The Last Gifts of the Universe

A Novel

De: Riley August

Narrado por: Robyn Holdaway, Ayesha Antoine, Chris Thompson

A dying universe. A search for answers. An adventure at the end of a trillion lifetimes.

When the Home worlds finally achieved the technology to venture out into the stars, they found a graveyard of dead civilisations. What befell them is unknown. All Home knows is that they are the last ones left–and whatever came for the others will one day come for them.

Scout is an Archivist who scours the dead worlds of the cosmos for their last gifts: interesting technology, cultural rituals–anything left behind that might be useful to Home and their survival. During an excavation on a lifeless planet, Scout unearths something unbelievable: a surviving message from an alien who witnessed the world-ending entity thousands of years ago.

Now Scout, their brother and their sometimes-fearless, space-faring cat, Pumpkin, must race to save what matters most.

©2024 Riley August (P)2024 Harlequin Enterprises, Limited

A Strong Start That Struggles to Maintain Momentum

Riley August’s The Last Gifts of the Universe begins with a captivating premise and a strong sense of intrigue. The exploration of lifeless planets and the archival messages from extinct civilizations, particularly the Endry, immediately drew me in. The pacing in the first half of the book is steady and engaging, with the sibling dynamic between Scout and Kieran providing warmth and relatability. The addition of Pumpkin, the cat, adds a touch of levity to an otherwise somber and reflective narrative.

However, as the story progressed and began to focus more heavily on the subplot involving the dead alien scientist and their partner, Avran, the momentum faltered. What started as a poignant mystery began to feel repetitive and tedious in the middle sections. While these details were meant to deepen the emotional weight of the story, I found myself losing interest in this subplot, as it detracted from the main storyline’s urgency and the Archivists’ mission.

By the time I reached the ending, I was left wanting more—a more compelling and impactful resolution that tied the earlier intrigue and subplots together in a satisfying way. The story felt as though it had so much potential to deliver an emotional and meaningful conclusion, but it fell short of fully realizing it.

Despite these pacing and resolution issues, the book does contain moments of emotional resonance and introspection that fans of character-driven science fiction may appreciate. For me, though, the middle section lacked the focus and energy of the book’s promising start, and the ending didn’t quite deliver the payoff I had hoped for.

The Last Gifts of the Universe offers a unique and contemplative take on grief, legacy, and memory. While it didn’t fully meet my expectations, it may still resonate with readers who enjoy introspective and melancholic science fiction.

Terrific audiobook!

I enjoyed the mystery, the storyline, and the relationships between the characters. The voice actors brought the book to life! I am looking forward to more books by the talented Riley August.

The meaning behind this book is so hidden but once discovered makes you think about your own life in a different way

I read thrue this book with audible with the intent to find a sifi about what happened to the species before this , and i came to find that even in the darkest of moments we can find prove within ourselves in the laughter and joy of others . If your looking for a book about thrillers this is definitely it , but it’s also a semi sweet book that has death and kindness and new found friends that we may never find again. I wish you all the best read

this author has an orange cat and it shows

best representation of orange cats in media ever

also the story is cool and well written and the characters are great and the voice is strong.

Underwhelming

Aliens: one race who were outrageously humanoid, one who felt like uninspired villains. An ending that felt rushed. An unlikeable cat who the protagonist couldn’t be arsed to leave on her spaceship during intensely dangerous adventures? Prose that was what I might expect if AI read a bunch of YA science fiction and borked up a novel averaging them all together. The presentation had some nice touches to distinguish the alien artifact recordings, but the quality of the production was not enough to overcome a story that fell flat. Skip it.